The Diesel engine was invented in 1893 by Rudolph Diesel. Mr. Diesel was driven by the desire to produce the worlds most efficient heat engine. Over the last 100 years many different engine types have been developed, but the Diesel engine is still the most efficient widely used engine. Diesel engines operate at the very foundation of our economy. Diesel engines power trucks, tractors, trains, boats, generators, water pumps and cars. It is the Diesel engine that gives us the ability to ship, construct, grow our food, and move goods and people. Without the Diesel engine the landscape of our economy would surely be much different than it is today. 

 

An interesting fact is that the first Diesel engines used peanut oil as fuel. So, from the very beginning, the engine was designed to use a renewable fuel. Sadly the oil companies soon realized that they finally had a use for the oily byproduct of producing gasoline, a light oil that after Diesel's death inherited the name "Diesel fuel". This is unfortunate, since Diesel's vision was to operate his engines on fuels that could be grown, not fossil fuels .

 

"The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become, in course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time."

Rudolph Diesel -1912

 

Today the use of renewable fuels in Diesel engines are finally making Mr. Diesel's vision a reality.  According to the US Department of Energy, vegetable derived Diesel fuel is the fastest growing alternative fuel in the country.   

Plant derived fuels offer advantages of stability and predictability of price in the midst of an unpredictable energy market. Using vegetable based fuels has many economic, environmental and social benefits. Using WVO and SVO is a good way to quickly integrate a truly renewable energy source into our existing energy infrastructure. 

 

Here's a link to some more information about the Diesel engine

 

Here's a link to more engine history